The Hero and The Alien
by TheMultiFandomFangirl
Summary: What if Claire moved to Smallville instead of Costa Verde? Will Sylar find her? How will Clark feel about Claire's abilities? What will Lana do when Claire gets too close to Clark? Just a little Clark/Claire love story out of boredom. Enjoy my pretties! xx
1. Welcome to Smallville

**Welcome to Smallville**

Claire groaned and rolled over in her bed, ignoring the beeping of her alarm clock. She pulled the covers off of her head with a large sigh and hit the 'off' button on the digital clock, silencing the beeping. She moaned and dragged herself off of her bed and over to her closet. She decided to go casual for her first day at a new school in a new town. She threw on a pair of jeans and a grey patterned cotton shirt.

The Bennets' were forced to move away from Texas, knowing that Sylar was still after Claire. They'd also had to change their last names, so now they were known as the DeLancey's. They had chosen the most remote place they could find. It was literally filled with farms and cornfields. The house they'd bought had a big field around it. Not too far away, another house and a big red barn were visible in the distance.

After pulling her hair into a neat ponytail and applying a shiny coat of lip gloss, she headed down the stairs. The smell of bacon and eggs filled the air. She mumbled a 'good morning' to her mother who was standing by the stove, flipping eggs onto plates. She placed a plate in front of Claire and kissed her daughter on the forehead.

"Good morning Claire-Bear," her dad greeted, walking into the kitchen, briefcase in hand. "Can I take you to school?"

"Uh, sure. Why not?" She replied with a forced smile.

"Claire," he said taking a seat beside her, "I know you miss New York and you don't want to start a whole new life, trust me, this isn't what your mother, Lyle or I wanted either, but it's what we had to do to keep you safe."

"I know, dad," she said picking at her egg with her fork. "You know, mom, I'm not really hungry. Let's go dad."

"You know Claire; I heard this school has an excellent cheer squad. Maybe you could try out, get back into cheerleading. As long as you don't show your ability, what do you say?"

"Sounds good." She smiled as the car stopped in front of the high school. Swarms of people talking and laughing. She wished she could be one of them. Back in her old school in Texas, she was.

"Okay, have a good day." Her father smiled. She smiled and nodded then slid out of the SUV. With one last wave to her dad, he drove off and she looked at the front of Smallville High before stepping towards the doors.

Claire received a lot of funny looks as she passed through the halls. She felt like she was on display at a zoo or a circus. She kept her head down and tried to ignore the curious stares. She was so absorbed in not paying attention to her surroundings, that she didn't notice a girl, about her height, with straight brown hair step out in front of her.

"Hi, you must be Claire DeLancey." She said with a broad smile. Claire nodded and smiled unsurely. "I'm Lana Lang, I've been asked to show you around."

"Oh okay, cool, thanks. Would you mind showing me to the principal's office? I'm meant to check in there before school."

"No problem! Follow me." She exclaimed cheerily. Lana turned and began walking before looking back and gesturing for Claire to follow. "So, are you thinking of joining any clubs?"

"I was kind of hoping there would be a spare spot on the cheerleading squad." Claire said, although it was more of a question because she noted that Lana was wearing a red and yellow cheerleading uniform. Lana let out a small, airy laugh.

"I might be able to swing you a tryout, but after that it's on you," Lana said with a friendly smile.

"Oh my god, thank you!" Claire said with dramatically-exaggerated relief.

"Just a warning though, the captain, Kimberly, can be a bit—don't tell her I said this—snobbish. She's kind of uptight about who makes the team and who doesn't, so bring you're A-game. She _will_ look for any reason to pick you apart. Even more so because you're new and from…where exactly are you from?" Lana finished with a kind chuckle.

"Odessa, Texas." Claire said with a nod and a smile.

"Wow, it must be so different there."

"It is, trust me. It's not so…"

"Isolated?"

"Well, yeah. No offense or anything."

"Oh none taken, Smallville is a very small town surrounded by large amounts of corn."

"I can't argue there." Claire laughed.

"Oh, here we are; Principal Hugh's office."

"Thank you so much."

"Of course," Lana smiled, revealing for the hundredth time, her perfectly straight and blindingly white teeth, "Hey why don't you sit with me at lunch? I can introduce you to the squad."

"That'd be awesome." Claire replied, mirroring Lana's smile. Lana nodded and left in the direction of what Claire assumed to be her first class.

_Okay, good, _Claire thought _I've made a friend. This is good. Sure, she smiles a lot and laughs too much, but I'm sure I'll get used to that._

Claire stepped into the office and was immediately overcome by the smell of hand sanitiser that was wafting over from the secretary's desk. 'Miss Kelly' the plaque on the desk read. The middle aged, blond secretary was sharpening pencils in her electric sharpener and measuring them, then placing them all lead-down in her pencil holder. There was a half empty bottle of sanitiser on her desk as well, but behind her, there was an unopened box of ordered hand sanitiser.

_What's a school without OCD right? _She thought sarcastically, and then jumped in shock when the door opened abruptly.

"Miss DeLancey, I presume?" Principal Hugh said. Claire nodded and the principal ushered her in.

Claire sat in the seat across from the principal's desk. She was happy to see no sanitiser.

"I trust you found your way alright?" he added, sitting in his desk chair.

"Yeah fine, Lana Lang showed me."

"Oh good; I must remember to thank her."

Claire spent the next period in the principal's office, learning about the school. The secretary also showed her around the school quickly, before giving Claire her timetable and letting her go in time for the first break. As promised, Lana was waiting in the cafeteria for Claire. She waved Claire over to a table that was surrounded by thin, brunette girls in red and golden yellow cheerleading uniforms.

_'I don't stick out at all.'_

"Hi." She said to Lana, plastering on a smile.

"Hey, everyone, this is Claire." Lana said, waving her hands at Claire as though she was advertising a car.

"Hey, I'm Kimberly." A tall girl with wide brown eyes and straight light brown hair said with a smug smirk. "Welcome to Smallville."


	2. We Got Spirit, Yes We Do

**WE GOT SPIRIT, YES WE DO**

"Hey mom, dad, I'm home!" Claire called from the door of the hotel her family were currently staying at as their stuff was being moved into their new farmhouse in Smallville.

"Hello Claire-Bear." Noah walked into the room and pulled his daughter into a tight hug.

"Hi sweetie; how was your day?" her mother asked, hugging Mr Muggles close to her chest.

"It was good." Claire said half-heartedly. It was true, her day was good, but she didn't like being the new girl. Back in Odessa, she may not have had a lot of friends – or any, after Zach had his memory taken – but at least she knew where she fit in. Here, in Smallville, she was just 'the new girl'. She wasn't a cheerleader, she wasn't a freak, she wasn't a loner; she wasn't even Claire Bennet. She was just, new. She was sure that in time she'd fit in _somewhere _here, but she was still on the run from Sylar and she was sure that this newfound safe haven wouldn't last forever.

Later on that evening, the family of four was sitting at the table eating dinner when the subject was brought up again.

"…And then, they tell me that they _don't have _dog competitions here in Smallville. I mean, can you believe that?" Sandra stressed. Obviously, no one was interested.

"So, when will we stop living in this hotel?" Lyle asked; eager to get off of the subject of Mr Muggles.

"The moving trucks should be finished tomorrow, so we'll be able to go home tomorrow afternoon." Noah smiled and continued to eat as if everything was okay.

'_This isn't home.' _Claire though bitterly and savagely bit into her steak.

"Great." Lyle said sarcastically picking at his food.

"So, Claire, make any friends today?" her mom smiled at her.

"Uh, yeah, I met this girl, Lana, and she introduced me to the rest of the cheerleading squad. I'm going to tryouts tomorrow." Claire explained.

"Well, that should be nice." Sandra smiled.

"Yeah," Claire gave a small smile, "you know, I'm not really hungry. If you don't mind, I might just go to bed early tonight."

"Sure Claire-Bear." Noah smiled and his daughter headed up to her room.

* * *

The next day at school, Claire still felt just as lost. She didn't see Lana anywhere, and she didn't know anyone else. The bell rang, signalling the beginning of classes and Claire took a map of the school out from her bag. The halls were starting to become less and less crowded, but that didn't help her find her way around. Claire frowned, thinking that she should've paid more attention in geography as she noted that she was no good at reading maps; even the simple ones. A green eyed girl with short blonde hair walked up to Claire. She was wearing denim jeans and a retro t-shirt.

"Hi, I'm Chloe and you look seriously lost." The other blonde chuckled. She held out her hand for Claire to shake.

"Yeah, I'm Claire DeLancey. I'm new, can you tell?" her last sentence was laced with sarcasm. "Uh, do you know where History-2D is?" Claire added, looking confused back at her map.

"Yeah, I have it now too." Chloe smiled. "Come on, I'll show you." Claire smiled gratefully and followed Chloe.

"So, where are you from? Why did you move? Do you have any deep dark secrets?" Chloe questioned, making Claire feel like she was being interrogated.

"Uh…" Claire didn't want to seem rude, but she didn't want to answer those questions either. What could she say, anyway; '_I'm from Kansas, we moved because a serial killer with powers is with me and, oh yeah, I can't die. Wanna be friends?'_? Claire didn't really think that would go over well.

"Sorry if I made you uncomfortable." Chloe laughed. "Clark and Pete say I ask too many questions, but I'm a reporter, I can't help it."

"You're a reporter?" Claire asked wanting to steer the conversation away from herself.

"Yeah, I'm the editor of the _Torch_." Chloe explained but realised that Claire had no idea what the _Torch _even was. "The _Torch _is the school magazine. I run it by myself, mostly but Clark writes a few articles every now and then."

"Isn't it hard to run a magazine by yourself?" Claire asked as they neared the classroom.

"Yeah, I'm always looking for some help." Chloe paused, hesitating to ask what she wanted to. "Um, you can come by after school, if you're interested." Her voice was smaller now, but Claire didn't notice.

"Oh, sorry, I'm going to cheerleading tryouts with Lana." Claire smiled brightly at her newly made friend and entered the classroom, missing the flash of sadness cross Chloe's face.

'_Another one lost to perfect Lana Lang.'_

* * *

"_We're pushing to the top! Red and Gold can't be stopped! Go! Fight! Win! Yell go! Fight! Win!"_ the group of hopeful cheerleaders copied after the head cheerleader Kimberly. The cheerleading squad, the football team and a few random students were all there to watch tryouts.

"Well done guys." She said in a mocking tone and raised an eyebrow at the group. "Let's try one more." She smiled brightly and began to clap. "_Everywhere we go, people want to know, who we are and so we tell them, we are the Crows! The mighty, mighty Crows!_"

"_Everywhere we go, people want to know, who we are and so we tell them, we are the Crows! The mighty, mighty Crows!_" the group of people trying out cheered after her.

"Okay everyone, go get a drink while we decide who's in!" Kimberly shouted and the hopefuls walked over to the water cooler where the football team was currently sitting. Some of them grumbled, embarrassed to be around the footballers and some started to giggle girlishly. Claire just ignored them all and headed to the cooler.

"Nice job, Claire." Claire nearly spit out her drink in fright when she heard the happy voice of Lana Lang behind her.

"Hey, thanks. How do you think I did?" Claire asked nervously. She _really _wanted to fit in here.

"Just between you and me," Lana leaned in to whisper, "I think you're in."

Claire laughed but stopped when a tall, broad shouldered boy with dark curly hair walked over to them.

"Hey, Lana." He said smiling at Lana, who smiled back fondly. "Who's this?" he looked at Claire, still smiling.

"Oh, this is Claire." she said dismissively. "I saw you out on the field today Clark, you did good." Lana complimented him. He turned to her briefly.

"Thanks." He turned back to Claire and held out a hand. "I'm Clark."

Claire shook his hand and looked at him, only now noticing his bright blue eyes. "Nice to meet you." Claire smiled back. "You aren't friends with Chloe by any chance, are you?"

"Best friends, why?" he asked cautiously.

"I met her today and she mentioned you a couple of times. Small world, huh?"

"Small town." Clark laughed. The two continued to laugh and talk, leaving Lana feeling left out, jealous and dejected.


	3. The Boy Next Door

**THE BOY NEXT DOOR**

The Bennets', or rather, the DeLanceys', pulled up in front of a house that looked like it came straight from 'Little House on the Prairie'. It was completely constructed of wooden planks, painted white and pale blue, plain old-fashioned window frames and even a few steps leading up to the door. It was _nothing_ like their house in Odessa. Odessa was relatively small and farmish, Claire would admit, but _this_…this was so…countryside.

"Are you serious?" Claire groaned.

"What's wrong Claire-Bear?" Claire shot her dad another 'are-you-serious' look.

"Oh come on honey, this house is nice. It's simple, that's what we need right now." Sandra reasoned. "What do you think Lyle?" she got no reply. "Lyle?" she asked again, but got no response as Lyle was too busy playing his PSP. Sandra sighed.

"Come on, let's go inside." Noah smiled and gestured for his family to follow him. They did so, and neither of the children were all too pleased with what they saw. It reminded them both of an old people's home; it even _smelled _like their grandparents.

Claire trudged around the house, and stopped when she came across a door which had wooden letters stuck to it that read out 'C-L-A-I-R-E'. She pushed the door open and saw that her room was painted a light purple colour. It was an alright size, and she had a walk-in robe. She could live with that. Glancing around at the boxes and furniture that littered her room, she sighed once again and went back into the living room; which her parents were currently unpacking.

"Mom, Dad, do you mind if I go and have a walk around outside? I'm still a little tired and I think some fresh air would help." She smiled to assure them that she was alight.

"Of course, honey." Her dad nodded and returned to the box he was emptying.

The cold wind hit Claire's face the moment she stepped outside. She took a deep breath and started to walk. She was missing her old town. Well, not so much the town, more the comfort it gave her; the familiarity of it. Smallville was still new to her and she just wanted to get settled in and adjusted, but she also didn't want to get to attached in case they moved again.

She didn't know how long she'd been walking for. She didn't even notice _where_ she was walking. She didn't notice that she was shivering because she left her jacket inside and it was still pretty early in the morning.

"Claire? What are you doing here?" a confused, yet familiar voice pulled her out of her thoughts. She looked up and was met by a beautiful pair of baby blues.

"Clark? Hey, I was just walking. I moved in not far from here…" she thought for a moment, trying to recall just how far it was but she couldn't. "Actually, I'm not really sure how far it was. I just kind of started walking." She chuckled.

"I know the house you're talking about." He nodded.

"Yeah; I guess I was just trying to escape my destiny of unpacking boxes and moving furniture." She joked.

"I could come help. I've got nothing else to do." He flashed her charming smile.

"Really? Are you sure?" she asked, although she already knew she wanted him to. Clark just smiled and nodded. Claire shrugged and nodded back. The two walked back to Claire's house in comfortable silence, only speaking when they thought it necessary. When they reached her house, she introduced him to her parents so they didn't get suspicious and overprotective. She explained how they met at school, and that he was their neighbour. They nodded and left Claire and Clark to unpack.

"Okay, what can I do?" Clark eagerly clapped his hands together.

"Uh, you can help me move my bed to the wall by the window?" Claire asked, giving him puppy-dog eyes.

"Sure. I can do it on my own if it's easier." He said, knowing it'd be done faster with his strength.

"Are you sure? It's a heavy bed." She raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah I'll be fine." He flashed her one of his boyish grins and she nodded, getting started on one of the decorating her shelves.

Clark looked over at Claire and made sure that she wasn't looking, before he glided the bed effortlessly across the room. He didn't use all of his strength—he didn't want to ram the bed into the wall – but just enough so that it seemed plausible for him to have moved it that quickly.

"Hey Clark, could you pass me that box over -," Claire stopped when she saw the bed already across the room. "Wow, you're strong." She said, surprised at how quickly he moved it.

"Yeah," Clark shrugged, "I kind of have to be to play football." He lied easily. Claire nodded as he passed her the box. "So, is this where you wanted it?" he pointed to the bed.

"Yeah that's perfect." She smiled at him.

"Cool. Do you want any help unpacking these boxes?" he asked, looking at the boxes by her feet.

"Sure." she smiled and he stood beside her, placing small ornaments and trinkets on the shelves of her room. Every now and then, the two would glance at the other with a slight smile but neither of them spoke up about it. They were both happy with their silent flirting. The silence was broken though, when Clark let out a loud bark-like laugh. Claire jumped back, startled but then her eyes widened as she saw what Clark was laughing at. In his hands, was a photo frame made of macaroni and the picture inside it, of a blonde toddler with wide brown eyes, a mullet and a milk-moustache. Claire gasped and reached to snatch it from Clark's hand. He moved away, too quickly for her to catch him, and continued to laugh.

"Is this you?" he asked through fits of laughter.

"That's not funny! Give it back!" She whined in embarrassment. Clark just kept laughing as he held it above his head and she attempted to jump and grab it from his hands. Suddenly, she stopped. Clark looked down at her, confused. She took his moment of confusion to push him backwards; catching him by surprise and making him stumble back onto the bed. She immediately pounced on him, straddling his hips, and reached over him to reach over and grab the photo. She nearly had it too, before they heard a small female voice from the doorway.

"Um, am I interrupting something?" they turned their heads to see Lana Lang. Claire quickly noticed the compromising position they were in and jumped off of Clark, stood up and brushed herself off. Clark stood up quickly after.

"No, no, nothing." Claire smiled. Lana smiled back, but it came out more of a grimace. "How'd you know where I live?" Claire asked.

"I didn't. I came around to meet my new neighbours." Lana smiled, but her eyes looked sad, disbelieving and almost annoyed.

"Clark was just helping me unpack." Claire explained; although, she wasn't really sure why she was trying to explain herself to Lana. It's not like Lana and Clark were together, but there _was_ obviously history between them. But that's all it was right; history?

"I'm sure he was." Lana all but glared at Claire. "I'm just gonna go now. Bye Clark." Lana finished and left before anyone else could speak up.

Claire huffed. She turned to Clark and glared at him; partly for not speaking up _at all_ during the conversation, and partly because he still had the photo. She held out her hand and Clark pouted cutely, but placed the photo back in Claire's hands.


	4. Can You Keep A Secret?

**A/N: I'm so sososososososo sorry for that mistake when everyone was Claire. thank you guys for pointing it out to me. I have no idea what happened, I remember writing it and I didn't write everyone as Claire, so my laptop must've had a spazz or something. I don't know, but I hope I fixed all of them, but if I didn't, please let me know.**

* * *

**CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET?**

One week. It had only been one week, and Claire felt like she was spinning into oblivion. One week since the 'unpacking incident'; when Lana started acting a little less-than-friendly towards Claire. One week since she met Chloe Sullivan; who will not stop pestering Claire, until she agrees to give the _Torch_ an exclusive interview about her life story. One week since Clark has been teetering between Claire and Lana. He'd make plans to hang out with Claire, only to remember at the last second that he's meant to be studying with Lana. Lana would ask him to come by the Talon after school, and he would agree but show up with Claire since they already had plans. Sometimes, though, he'd just be with one of them at school and then the other would show up and he'd ignore who he was with and try and justify himself to the other. Both girls were getting fed up, but neither girl was willing to _give up_.

"I know I've been bugging you," Chloe said to Claire as they walked to the cafeteria, "it's just that, this is Smallville. We _never _get new people in Smallville. I mean, if you've heard about any of the things that have happened, I don't understand why you'd _choose_ to live here." Claire nodded, not really listening, her eyes scanning the cafeteria for a certain blue-eyed quarterback. "Although, Wall-of-Weird worthy stories have been kind of scarce lately, so you're the most interesting thing to happen yet. You're the new girl who has befriended _Lana Lang_ and _Claire Kent_ in one week, plus becoming a cheerleader. Please, _please_, agree to give me an exclusive interview." Chloe gave Claire her best puppy dog eyes and mock begged. Claire laughed lightly at the ridiculous sight but still shook her head.

"I'm sorry Chloe, my dad would have a fit if I said anything to a magazine." Claire explained, but that just fuelled Chloe more.

"Ah, so you've got something to hide?" she squinted at Claire. Claire laughed loudly.

"No, no, nothing like that. It's just, my dad is a very normal and private person." She nearly rolled at her eyes – her family was anything but normal. "He doesn't like other people knowing, well anything really and he doesn't like journalists, no offense. He say they're always poking around in things that don't concern them or something." It upset Claire to know how easily she could lie to people she considered friends. Chloe huffed.

"Oh, alright then, I don't want to get you in trouble." Chloe pouted.

"Maybe I could come and help you out at the _Torch_ this afternoon to make up for it." Claire suggested and Chloe's pout was replaced with her usual bubbly smile.

"That'd be great!" Chloe said happily. "Oh, look I see Clark and Lana. Let's go." Chloe started walking and Claire followed. Claire felt a pang in her gut when she heard that Clark was with Lana, _again_. She pushed the anger and jealousy to the back of her mind, as she sat with the others.

"Claire, hey." Clark smiled at her. She admitted, it was cute, but she was still mad. "Lana was in my last class, so we just walked to the cafeteria together."

There he goes again, justifying himself. Claire nearly rolled her eyes. He wasn't dating either of them, so he really had no reason to explain why he was with her. Yes, it annoyed Claire that he was spending more time with Lana, but they'd known each other for ages and it's not like Claire could stop him even if she wanted to.

"It's fine." She tried to assure, but there was still tension in the air.

"Hey Claire," Lana glanced quickly at Claire while placing a hand on Claire's forearm "I was wondering if you wanted to come over to the talon and study for our history test with me?"

Claire glanced over at Clark, who was picking quietly at her food, and then at Chloe, who was basically glaring at him not to ditch her at the _Torch _tonight.

"Uh, I can't. Sorry, Lana, I'm at the _Torch_ tonight." He explained. At this, Claire's head shot up.

"You are?" she asked. Clark nodded and she smiled at him. "Me too."

Clark smiled back happily. Claire continued to eat, feeling proud and smug, as though she'd just won.

Later on that day, Chloe and Claire were left sitting in the _Torch_, waiting for Clark to show up. Claire was sitting on a desk, her legs swinging bored beneath her. Chloe was sitting in a chair beside her, going through files on a computer.

"He's probably with Lana." Chloe spoke up. "He's always blowing me off for perfect little Lana Lang." the last sentence was just a whisper, but Claire heard it.

"I thought you and Lana were friends?" Claire questioned. It was Chloe's turn to be interrogated.

"We are; it's just…" Chloe sighed and stood up, walking over to another desk that was covered in papers and began to laminate something. "When it comes to Lana, it changes. I get jealous, and she gets, well, desperate and clingy."

"So, you like Clark?" Chloe stopped paying attention to the laminator and hung her head.

"I do." She answered before turning back to Claire. "But it's not just that. He _always_ does this. Lana's needs come before anyone else's for him."

There was a pause, but Claire spoke. "I'm sorry." Chloe looked confused. "I know it's not my fault. Clark is a big boy; he can decide what he does with his time. I'm also sorry that you've basically had to watch me and Lana fight over him."

Chloe waved her hand in dismissal. "It's fine. I know that me and Clark will only ever be friends. Besides, I'd rather him with you than Lana." She shrugged. Claire raised her eyebrows in surprise and interest. "Don't get me wrong, I love Lana like a sister, but she has everything already. She has the Talon; she has Lex Luther wrapped around her finger, along with everyone at Smallville High. I just think that, she has enough already. Especially after she practically strung him along while she was with Whitney – don't ask – she should leave Clark for someone else. She doesn't need him." Chloe gave Claire a small smile.

"Guys! I'm here! I'm sorry." Clark panted (or, fake panted) lightly from running.

"Clark, how nice of you to grace us with your presence." Chloe's voice was laced with sarcasm.

"I'm really, really sorry. I was on my way and then Lana –"

"Oh, Lana. I should've known." Claire deadpanned. "Hey, Claire could you cut the edges off of this for me?" her tone lightened as she spoke to Claire.

"Sure." Claire smiled, making a point to ignore Clark. She took the laminated sheet and a pair of scissors from Chloe.

Claire began to cut the sheet, but was paying more attention to Chloe and Clark's conversation.

"I swear Chloe, I was walking here and then Lana cornered me. She was asking me about class and stuff but I told her I had to go." Clark explained quickly.

"Clark, you're in love with Lana, I get that she'd come before me and Claire." Chloe was obviously upset.

"No, Chloe, I'm not even sure I'm in love with Lana anymore." He stressed. "Besides, I'd rather hang out with you and Claire."

Claire was so taken aback by what he said, that she didn't even realise she was still cutting the paper.

"Ow!" she shouted as she sliced her finger open with the scissors. Clark and Chloe rushed to her side instantly. "No, no I'm fine, really! It's just a scratch!" she said hastily, knowing it'd already be healed. The others didn't stop though; they were only focused on the thick, red, blood running down her hand. Chloe grabbed some tissues and passed them to Clark as she searched for a Band-Aid. Clark took her hand in his and gently wiped the blood away. Claire cringed when all the blood was cleared, and her finger was unscathed.

"What the…?" Chloe trailed off, observing her finger. Chloe stood there, staring at Claire as if she'd grown two heads.

Claire groaned audibly. "Uh oh."


	5. Meteor Freaks and Mutants

**METEOR FREAKS AND MUTANTS**

"_Oh…my…god_! You're a meteor freak?!" Chloe exclaimed with great interest.

"What? No, I -" Claire tried to speak but she was cut off by a ranting Chloe Sullivan.

"Were you ever in Smallville before?" Chloe questioned and Claire just shook her head in response. "That means you've been infected sometime in the last week."

"No, it's -"

"But then, all these mutations go bad! Something will go wrong with it! Soon, you'll probably start to wither away, or, all your wounds will open up at the same time, or – or – or, I don't know, you'll start to suck away everyone else's life to keep healing! This is so going on the Wall-of-Weird!" Chloe picked up a Polaroid camera off of a desk and snapped a shot of Claire. Once it dried, she pinned it on the Wall-of-Weird and wrote on it 'heals'. Claire's eyes widened in shock as she noticed all the pictures and articles of other people with powers. She jumped up and snatched her picture off of the wall.

"Chloe, what the hell?" Claire hissed angrily. What right did Chloe have to just expose her like that? "You can't just put that up there for everyone to see! Do you even think about how your articles and this wall affect these people? Do you know how it would affect _me_? Do you want me to move again? Because, I'm really starting to like it here and I thought we were friends."

"W-we are." Chloe stuttered with a small voice. The truth was, she didn't think of them when she printed the articles or stuck the pictures on the wall. All she thought of was how interesting of a story it was. Not all of them were bad people. Some of them were even her friends, well before she wrote about them anyway. Guilt seeped in as she thought of how many lives she's ruined, or nearly ruined, for her own entertainment. It wasn't that she liked seeing people upset and hurt, her curiosity just always got the better of her. Chloe always prided herself on finding out the truth about people and exposing them, no matter what the cost she always got her way – and her story. Now, though, she realised that the cost wasn't at her expense, it was at theirs.

"Obviously we aren't as close as I thought, because if we were you wouldn't have just labelled me as some 'meteor freak' and stuck me on your stupid wall! You would've given me a chance to talk."

"I'm sorry." Chloe whispered, looking down guiltily.

"Claire, why don't you explain what's going on?" Clark spoke for the first time. Claire just sighed.

"I'm not a 'meteor freak'. I don't even know what that is. I've never been to Smallville before. I was just born this way. It's a genetic mutation; my father can fly and my mother can set fires with her hands." Claire looked at Clark, who looked shocked. "Those people you met, I was adopted by them. My dad – not my real one, the adoptive one – worked for this company that tracked and kidnapped people like me. There's this guy, Sylar, he also has powers, but he's dangerous. He cuts open peoples brains and…he eats them to absorb their powers. So he's after me, to get my powers. That way he'll be invincible. My dad's old company is also after me. That's why we moved. That's why I can't give you an exclusive interview on my life, no matter how interesting it is. That's why you can't put me on that wall."

There was a long silence once Claire finished speaking.

Claire swore she could hear her heart beating. She was just waiting. Waiting for Chloe to betray her and run the story. Waiting for Clark to say he wants nothing to do with her. Waiting for something to spiral out of control like it always does.

Chloe was having an internal battle with herself. The journalist in her wanted to print the story. It would be the story of the year, the decade, the _century_. If she submitted it to the _Daily Planet_, there would be a higher chance of her getting the internship. But, if she did that, she would be betraying Claire. And what if this Sylar guy saw it and found her? If he killed Claire, Chloe would have the blood on her hands as well.

Clark was thrilled. Claire wasn't 'normal' so maybe she could accept him? Although, Claire is still human, just genetically different. Clark is an alien. No, Claire wouldn't care about that. He could be himself around her. He could be honest and open; something he could never be with Lana without putting her in danger.

"Whoa." Chloe was the first one to talk. Claire looked up at her in shock.

"Yeah." Clark agreed.

"That's all you have to say?" Claire asked, slightly confused. She was expecting more of a reaction.

"Well, yeah. I mean, we see a lot of weird things here so this isn't exactly world-shattering." Chloe shrugged.

"You don't think I'm a freak? You don't want nothing to do with me?"

"Sure it's a little weird, but I can keep a secret, and _god knows_ Clark can." Chloe said, resulting in a weird look from Claire and Clark.

"Clark?" Claire asked hesitantly. He smiled a small, reassuring smile.

"You're still Claire." he said and his smile widened. Claire smiled back. The two stayed like that until Chloe cleared her throat, breaking the moment.

"Anyway, I'd appreciate it if we could all get back to work." Chloe said and smiled, as if nothing happened. She passed them each some sheets of paper with jobs on them and Clark and Claire got to it. Claire was happy that she was accepted. She was still afraid though, that her dad would find out and do the same to them that he did to Zach. She put the negative thoughts to the back of her mind though and focused on the new friends that she's made here in Smallville. She smiled and laughed with Clark and Chloe, thinking that maybe, just maybe, she could make it work here.


	6. NOT A CHAPTER

Due to exams, I won't be able to update for a few weeks, but when I get back, I'll have a double update for you!


	7. Eeny Meeny Miny Moe

**EENY MEENY MINY MOE**

It was a Wednesday, and Clark was at the talon with Lana. He sat across a table from her as they studied. Well, Clark was studying; Lana was more focused on watching him study. She had always liked Clark. At first, it was just as a friend, and then a little more, and a little more, until one day she was just hit by how much emotion she held for the quarterback. She wanted him, she knew that much. True, she'd never _really_ been interested until Claire was, but that didn't matter. She wanted him now, and he always wanted her. It's the way it's always been and always should be.

Clark thought, as he studied, about what it would be like to date Lana Lang. He'd been in love with her from the moment he saw her, that was for sure, but what would it be like to have her return the feelings? Would he be able to compete with every other guy in Smallville that wanted her? They had some stuff in common, and he liked to talk to her but was it only as a friend? Was his 'love' for Lana only a long-term infatuation with the girl? Or did he like the chase? Would he ever be able to be honest without putting her in danger, and if he couldn't, would she ever be able to truly trust him?

But then, what would it be like to be with Claire? He could be himself around her, he was sure of it. She's nice and has a pretty smile. She's down-to-earth and isn't high maintenance. She's easy to talk to and would be able to keep Clark's secret without much pressure.

But then again, she was being put in comparison to Lana Lang. the two of them were like, black swan/white swan; the dark beauty the light beauty. He's always been in love with her and to have feelings for someone else would just be…wrong. It would be like turning the world upside down. But since when was anything in his world right?

Lana's laugh brought Clark out of his thoughts. His head snapped up to meet her eyes and he saw her staring at him with a smile on her face. Her eyes lit up like the fourth of July, and her nose was crinkling up that cute way that it does when she smiles like that.

"What?" Clark asked with a slight chuckle.

"You just looked so lost and confused." She answered. "Kind of like a puppy."

"Oh." Clark answered; his mind still halfway off in his thoughts. Lana stood up from her seat opposite him and walked over to his side. Grabbing the biology book that was opened in front of Clark, she took a seat beside him. They were so close that their shoulders and knees were touching. Lana's scent of strawberries and cream was overpowering his senses and pretty soon he found himself just basking in her presence. He was completely overcome by being this close to her that he just decided to close his mind and enjoy being with the girl of his dreams.

Claire was still on his mind, though. Somewhere, she was there. In the back of his mind, tugging at his thoughts like something important that was forgotten and demanding to be remembered.

* * *

The next day at school, the first thing Clark did was search for Chloe. She would know what to do about this dilemma. He knew she had feelings for him, but he also knew that she understood they'd only ever be friends and that she'd put her feelings aside to help her friends. Since wasn't at the _Torch_, which was a rare occurrence, he left the small office and started to look for her through the corridors. He found her standing at her locker, putting away some of her books. He ran up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder.

She spun around quickly, her short blonde hair framing her face as she did so. As soon as she saw him, a huge smile came across her face.

"Clark, hi!" she said happily.

"Hey Chloe," he gave her a small smile. "I kinda need your advice about something."

"Girl troubles?" Chloe smirked.

"Is it that obvious?" Clark blushed.

Chloe just rolled her eyes and tugged his sleeve for him to follow her. She led him to the _Torch_ and closed the door behind them. Taking a seat in front of a desk with a computer on it, she faced Clark, who was standing awkwardly near the doorway.

"Let me guess," Chloe started, folding her hands in her lap "you like Lana, but you also like Claire and that's making you feel guilty because you've always loved Lana. Now, they both want you but you don't know who you want. You think it'd be easier with Claire because you can tell her your secret, but on the other hand, it's Lana Lang."

Clark stared dumbly. "Well, uh, yeah. How'd you know that?"

"I'm your best friend, Clark, I know you inside out." She said, a little sadly – something that Clark didn't miss. He started to feel even guiltier, knowing that he was the source of his friend's pain. "Anyway, the way I see it, is that you have three options. Option one; you can choose Claire and live happily ever after with no secrets. Option two; you can choose Lana and spend your whole life wondering if you should tell her, when you know you never will to keep her safe. Or option three; you choose neither and try to move on from both of them."

Clark nodded. "You're right, Chloe. Thanks, I know what I'm going to do." He gave her a quick hug before running out of the room.

He ran through the halls searching for her. Classes just got out for lunch and the place was crowded. He could barely move as he tried to not use his super-strength or super-speed. Finally, though, he saw her. She was standing with the other cheerleaders. Laughing and smiling that smile that he loved to see. He saw his chance to speak to her when she waved goodbye to the others and started to walk towards him.

"Oh, Clark, hi." She smiled brightly, showing Clark her perfect teeth.

"Can we talk?" Clark asked; lacking the confidence he was sure he had two minutes ago.

"Sure." she replied with her usual bubbly charm. Clark froze, unable to find the words to explain how he was feeling. Suddenly, he let his actions take over as he grabbed her head in his hands and pressed a sudden kiss to her lips. The kiss was short and sweet, and ended as soon as it started when Clark pulled away, leaving a stunned girl standing before him. For a moment, his thoughts turned to the other girl; the one he was leaving heartbroken, but he quickly recovered.

"I know I've had to choose, and now I've chosen." Clark said breathlessly, scared of what her reaction would be. "I know how I feel and I've chosen you. I want to be with you…Lana."

* * *

**A/N: did any of you see that coming? Yes? No? Let me know what you think of this chapter, I'm not fully happy with it but I just couldn't write it in a way that pleased me so this was the best I came up with.**


	8. All's Fair In Love And War

**A/N: If you haven't read the previous chapter, please do since it was a double update and you don't want to accidentally skip a chapter!**

* * *

**ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR**

Clark and Lana entered school the next morning hand-in-hand. Lana had a smug grin on her face. She knew she'd won the game, and Clark Kent was the prize, although really, was there ever even a competition? As they walked down the halls of Smallville High, Lana smiled proudly to herself. She now had Clark and she had no intention of letting him go.

Clark was happy as well. Lana was everything he'd ever wanted, wasn't she? She was. That shouldn't even be a question. And there wasn't. Lana was perfect. But if she was so perfect, why was Clark questioning it? And why did he feel like something was missing? And why was he concerned about how Claire would feel?

He didn't need to worry anymore though, because just a minute later, he and Lana came to a stop before Chloe and Claire standing before their lockers. Claire and Chloe stopped their conversation to greet their friends. Claire opened her mouth to speak, but then closed and her smile dropped it as she saw Clark and Lana's interlaced hands.

Claire felt heartbroken and sick. She'd never had her heart broken before. She'd seen it in movies and read about it in books, but not once had it happened to her. She felt like her heart had dropped into her stomach. It was like that feeling when you're walking up the stairs in the dark, and you think that there's another step but there isn't and you're left with this sick feeling as you adjust. It was like that, before someone walks up and rips out your heart. She managed to plaster on a smile, though and greeted the two as she would any other day.

"Hey Clark, Lana." She smiled and nodded at them.

"Hey Claire." Clark said happily, obviously missing the look of pain that recently graced Claire's features.

"Yeah, hey Claire." Lana said with a self-satisfied smile directed at Claire. Lana turned to Clark and tugged lightly on his hand to direct his attention from Claire to herself. "Um, Clark, I need to go and get my books out of my locker. Will you come with me?" she asked, batting her eyelashes and smiling sweetly at him.

"Of course." He smiled back.

Lana reached up and pulled Clark into a quick kiss, taking the blue-eyed farm boy completely by surprise. Lana then glanced at Claire, noting the look of dejection in the eyes of both Chloe and Claire.

"Thanks Clark, you're the _best_ boyfriend ever." She said, feigning innocence. Gripping Clark's hand tighter, she dragged him away from the two blondes.

Once they were gone, Claire slumped back onto the lockers, clutching her books to her chest and an upset frown spread across her face.

"So, I guess that's it." Claire said to no one in particular.

"What's it?" Chloe asked, leaning back on the lockers beside her friend.

"He's chosen. There's nothing I can do about it."

"I'm sorry Claire. he came to me for advice yesterday about who he should choose, and I really thought I'd made him choose you but, I guess not." Chloe sighed, feeling bad for her friend.

"Don't worry; it's not your fault." Claire smiled reassuringly at Chloe. "Besides, who am I compared to _Lana Lang_?"

* * *

"So, Clark, what do you want to do tonight?" Lana asked Clark just after their fifth period of the day. They were walking from their maths class to their next classes. Lana had art, while Clark had physics. One more lesson and Lana could spend some quality time with her boyfriend without Claire interrupting in one way or another.

"Um, I'm actually working at the _Torch_ afterschool today, but maybe we could do something tomorrow?" Clark suggested, feeling bad that he was already blowing off his now-girlfriend.

"Yeah, okay." Lana said with a hint of bitterness. She had a feeling a certain blonde was going to be there as well.

"I've gotta get to class now, but I'll see you tomorrow." He said and kissed Lana on the cheek before walking off without a backwards glance.

"Lana!" she heard someone call from behind her. She spun around and saw the head cheerleader, Kimberly, with her arms crossed as she stormed towards Lana.

"Yes Kimberly?" Lana asked once the annoyed cheerleading captain caught up to her.

"We're having an emergency squad meeting after school at three-thirty." she said hastily. Lana could tell she was pissed off; she probably found some of the other cheerleaders smoking weed again. "Anyone who misses it is off the squad. Tell Claire and _don't_ be late." She finished and stormed off.

* * *

The last class of the day seemed to pass quickly for Claire. After she had packed up her books, she made her way to the _Torch_. Working there with Chloe had become a regular thing for her. Chloe was her friend, and since she didn't have many, or really any, others, she hung out there when she didn't have cheerleading practice or before cheerleading practice. She didn't have practice until four-thirty today, so she decided to spend the hour at the _Torch_ with Chloe. When she saw that Chloe wasn't there yet, she thought to take a look at the infamous Wall-of-Weird since she hadn't had a proper look at it yet. One picture she saw caught her eye. It was of a young Lana Lang wearing a fairy princess costume as she cried. It was from a newspaper, and as Claire read through it, she read that the girl's parents had died in the meteor shower. Claire felt a rush of sympathy for the girl rush over her, causing her to deflect her attention to another picture. She wondered about all these people. What were they like before they were infected? Before they became freaks, like her. Did they want to be normal again? Or did they like being different? She didn't have much time to ponder over it, though, as a small cough brought her attention to the doorway where Clark stood.

"Oh, hi. I didn't realise you were going to be here today." Claire said.

"Yeah, I usually help out on Wednesdays." Clark replied awkwardly, feeling the tension in the air.

"Well, um, Chloe's late so I was just looking around." Claire told him, unaware that Chloe was being late on purpose to give the other two a chance to talk.

"Well, since Chloe's late I guess I'm the boss for now." Clark teased with a smile.

Claire scoffed. "Please, I was here first." She countered.

"I've been working here longer." Clark smirked.

"That is so not fair!" Claire whined playfully, staring to feel comfortable around Clark again. The two continued to playfully argue and laugh together, unknowing that Lana was watching them from a window in the corridor. She was on her way to tell Claire about the emergency cheer meeting when she heard her boyfriend laughing. She felt jealousy and anger bubbling up inside of her as she watched the two. She stomped into the _Torch_ office and stood beside Clark.

"Oh, hey Lana." Clark greeted, secretly wondering why Lana was here since she never stopped at the _Torch_.

"Hey Clark." She said and kissed him on the cheek. Claire's smile faded from her face. "I just came to let Claire know that cheerleading practice has been cancelled for today. Kimberly said something about a family emergency." Lana lied smoothly, throwing a smile at Claire and Clark. "Well, I'd love to stay but I better get going now, I have homework to do." She threw one more look at the two of them before leaving for the gym, where the rest of the squad would be waiting.


End file.
